Rex Ryan: You’re not going to believe this, but Mark Sanchez is starting against Bills

What better way for the New York Jets to end their season than to start the quarterback who was once the starter, then got benched, then started again, then got benched again and is now preparing to be under center to close out the year. Greg McElroy is still suffering from concussion-like symptoms, which means Mark Sanchez is starting against the Buffalo Bills this weekend.

You didn’t think Tim Tebow would actually get an opportunity, did you?

“You’re not going to believe this one,” Ryan told reporters Thursday morning, via Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News. “I was stunned by it. Mark has had success earlier in the season against Buffalo. He’s very familiar with them. That’s the reason I’m going with Mark. I had the conversation with both Mark and Tim…. about what I was going to do. Obviously, Tim’s not happy with that. That’s what you expect.”

The announcement is the perfect ending to arguably the most hectic season in Jets history. In the offseason, most experts predicted Tebow would earn the starting job at some point during the season when Sanchez inevitably struggled. Sanchez certainly struggled, but Tebow was never given a chance. In fact, there were even reports that he asked to be removed from situational duty if he wasn’t going to be given an opportunity to start.

“Obviously, (Tebow would) like a shot at it,” Ryan explained. ”When you look at it with the situation the way it is, it’s a short window to get the preparation time in. I just think it’s best for a our football team. That doesn’t mean that Tim won’t play in this game, but I’m just more comfortable starting Mark.”

If Tim plays in this game, we’d be surprised. Actually, the Jets could run Fireman Ed out onto the field and it wouldn’t shock us with the way this season has gone.